especial

Forms

especial (feminine especiale, especiales)^[1]

• especiel, espicial, espesial, espessial, especiall, special^[2][3][4]

Beside the form with e-, the Latin spelling special appears in Benoît de Sainte-Maure's Roman de Troie.^[3][4]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin speciālis (“of a particular kind, individual”),^[4][5][1] formed from speciēs (“kind, sort”) with -ālis.^[6] Like other Latin words beginning with ⟨sp-⟩, it took an ⟨e-⟩ in Old French.^[7] The DHLF dates the spelling especiel about 1130 and the spelling ⟨especial⟩ about 1150, and the form without ⟨e-⟩ is a remaking of about 1190.^[8] In Medieval Latin the adjective could also mean "intimate, private",^[9] a sense the Old French word shares.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest record is especial in the Anglo-Norman Cambridge Psalter, of about 1125 in a manuscript of about 1140.^[10] The TLFi gives especïel in the Roman d'Eneas, about 1160, in the sense "particular to a kind, as opposed to general".^[3]

Semantic evolution

Beside the sense "particular, as opposed to general", which the FEW follows into legal use until the 16th century, the adjective described close personal ties: a friendship that is especially close (1339), a devoted person, and, from 1359 someone outstanding in power or wisdom.^[4][8] The phrases par especial and en especial meant "in particular";^[11] the DHLF dates par especial from 1309 and finds it into the 17th century.^[8] Modern French has spécial.^[8]

Timeline

• 1100–1150 – especial in the Cambridge Psalter.^[10]
• c. 1160 – especïel in the Roman d'Eneas.^[3]
• c. 1165 – special in the Roman de Troie, which the DEAF dates about 1170.^[3][12]
• c. 1235 – the AND's first citation.^[2]
• 1309 – par especial "in particular".^[8]
• 1339 – of a close friendship.^[4][8]

Meanings

Adjective

1. special, particular, specific, as opposed to general.^[4][11][2]
2. dear, intimate, devoted.^[2][13][14]
3. powerful, mighty; outstanding in power or wisdom.^[1][13][4]
4. chief, principal.^[2]
5. (as a noun, Anglo-Norman) a favourite, close friend; a mistress.^[2]
6. in par especial, en especial: especially, in particular.^[11][2]

Anglo-Norman

The AND heads the word especial, first cites it from about 1235, and lists the spellings especeall, especiall, especiel, espesial, espessial and espicial.^[2] Insular uses include a special friend, a favourite or mistress, and the Porta Speciosa.^[2] English special, recorded from about 1200, comes from Old French special and especial and directly from Latin, and especial from the Old French word in the late 14th century.^[7]

Descendants

• Middle French especial (→ French spécial)^[14][8]
• Middle English especial (borrowed; → English especial)^[7]

Usage notes

Tobler–Lommatzsch heads the word especïal, Godefroy and the AND especial, the DMF espécial and the TLFi spécial.^[11][2][14]

References

1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Anglo-Norman Dictionary (AND2), Aberystwyth University, anglo-norman.net (2nd ed., 2005–), p. s.v. especial
3. ^ a b c d e Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
4. ^ a b c d e f g Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 12:152
5. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France, p. 645
6. ^ Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press, p. s.v. speciālis
7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert, p. s.v. spécial
9. ^ Niermeyer, J. F. (1976), Mediae Latinitatis Lexicon Minus, Leiden: Brill, p. s.v. specialis
10. ^ a b Stein, Achim; Kunstmann, Pierre; Gleßgen, Martin-D., eds., Nouveau Corpus d'Amsterdam, version 4 (lemmatised corpus of Old French texts, after A. Dees), Universität Stuttgart, github.com/michaniets/NCA (texts by DEAF siglum), p. PsCambrM
11. ^ a b c d Tobler, Adolf; Lommatzsch, Erhard (1925–2002), Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch, 11 vols., Berlin / Wiesbaden / Stuttgart: Weidmann / Steiner, p. 3:1167
12. ^ Baldinger, Kurt; Möhren, Frankwalt; Städtler, Thomas, eds. (1971–2021), Dictionnaire étymologique de l'ancien français (DEAF), Heidelberg: Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften; DEAFél / DEAFpré, deaf-server.adw.uni-heidelberg.de, p. s.v. especial
13. ^ a b Greimas, Algirdas Julien (1979), Dictionnaire de l'ancien français jusqu'au milieu du XIVe siècle, 2nd ed., Paris: Larousse (printing of 1988), p. s.v. especial
14. ^ a b c Dictionnaire du Moyen Français, version 2015 (DMF 2015), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/dmf, p. s.v. especial